


Asthenophobia

by chorus_fruit



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (Video Games), Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, First Kiss, G.U.N. - Freeform, Gender-neutral Reader, Kissing in the Rain, More tags to be added, Other, Reader is the Avatar, Slow Burn, i don't really know where i'm going with this actually, they/them pronouns
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-29
Updated: 2017-12-06
Packaged: 2019-02-08 06:49:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12859098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chorus_fruit/pseuds/chorus_fruit
Summary: asthenophobianouna fear of weaknessWord OriginGreek a- 'without' + thenos 'strength'





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> (⌒_⌒;)
> 
> Yes, I'm writing an Infinite x Reader fanfiction. Yes, this is because I'm in love with Infinite.
> 
> Don't judge me. Just enjoy the fic.
> 
> (Also, if you really want to immerse yourself, get the chrome extension "Word Replacer II" and replace "[y/n]" with your name! Just a quick tip).

You stare at the open fridge dejectedly, a sigh escaping your lips. There is absolutely nothing to eat, besides a moldy container of leftover casserole you're fairly sure isn't edible.

You shuffle your sock-covered feet on the tile of the kitchen and slam the fridge door. Time to go shopping.

You head out to the main room of your apartment, which is nothing special. It houses a few framed photos, a couch, an outdated television, and a bookshelf that could really use some more books. On the bookshelf is your Wispon, an object you doubt you will ever have to use again.

You pull on a pair of shoes and open the door, stepping out into the carpeted hallway of your apartment. Heading towards the elevators, you notice your neighbor, Sparks the Crow, and wonder if perhaps you should take the stairs instead.

There's nothing wrong with Sparks, and it's not that you dislike her, but she has this habit of talking, and talking, and talking, locking you in conversations that are interesting but endless. And right now, you're hungry, and all you want is to get food from the market.

But it's too late, she's seen you.

"[y/n]!" Sparks exclaims, rushing towards you. She's a black crow with yellow eyes. She wears overalls, hiking boots, and protective glasses on top of her head. She makes and repairs Extreme Gear for a living, and she's good at it, too; if you ever decided to get some gear, you'd get it from her.

"Hey there, Sparks," you say, waving and stepping forward. You eye the elevators. "What's up?"

"I was just heading out to the market to see if they needed any help with repairs, you know?" Sparks says, waving her hands wildly as she speaks. "Ever since we won the war I've been helping out here and there."

"That's nice of you," you say. "I'm heading to the market, too."

"Oh!" Sparks says, clapping her hands together. "We can go together!"

You laugh nervously. "Yeah, sure."

Together, you wait for the elevator. It arrives quickly, and you both step inside.

You feel your stomach drop as the elevator descends. Sparks rattles on about the latest Extreme Gear she's building, and you listen politely.

The market is fairly close to the apartment building. The two of you step out into the warm, dusty air, and walk down the road towards it. The market is an indoor building that houses almost any food item you can imagine, plus some you  _ can't  _ imagine. It's big and has automatic doors, but is almost in ruins ever since the war. It's still in business, but you worry it won't be for long. Maybe Sparks can help.

The both of you approach the market, and you notice something on the side of the building. You abscond from the conversation to go look.

They're wanted posters, a familiar, masked face plastered on them. Infinite.

You squint at the text. 

WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE, it says, $100,000 REWARD.

_ That's a hefty reward _ , you think. Sparks is now standing at your side.

"What'cha looking at?" She asks.

"These wanted posters," you say, pointing towards them.

"I thought Infinite was dead?" Sparks asks, tilting her head confusedly. "You  _ did _ kill him, didn't you?"

"I thought I did," you say. "But whoever put up these posters must think otherwise."

"Well, who put them up?" Sparks asks.

You stare at the posters, looking at any sort of inkling of who might have posted them. The only thing that gives any sort of indication is a phone number.

You pull out your phone and consider calling it for a good, solid moment.

"Are you going to call the number?" Sparks asks. "Cause if you won't, I will. I'm curious about this."

"Here," you say, handing the phone to her. She quickly dials the number and puts it up to her ear.

It rings for a moment, and then someone on the other end starts talking. Sparks listens intently.

"It went to an answering machine," Sparks says, ending the call and handing the phone back to you. "G.U.N., it said."

"G.U.N.?" You ask. "Aren't they a government organization? Why are they looking for a dead person?"

"Maybe they know something you don't," Sparks suggests.

"Maybe? I don't know," you say. "I really thought he was gone for good."

You grab your things at the market and leave Sparks there (they  _ did _ need help with repairs, and she was happy to do so). On your way home, you wonder about G.U.N.; why do they want Infinite? What do they know that you don't?

Clearly, G.U.N. thought that Infinite had survived your and Sonic's attacks. But how? And what had happened to him?

You head back to your apartment and eat breakfast, head swimming the entire time. Something wasn't adding up.

That night, you receive a text from Sparks.

**Sparky**

_ 8:19 PM _

hiya! so, im still at the market, and i dont wanna walk home alone in the dark, so i was wondering if maybe a hero who saved the world would like to come walk me home?

**You**

_ 8:20 PM _

i guess

**You**

_ 8:20 PM _

ill be there in a few

You don't think you'll need it, but you grab your Wispon off the shelf before you leave.

You arrive at the market quickly, but you sort of cheated; you used your Wispon to homing-attack onto things and get there quickly. Sparks is standing outside waiting for you.

"Hey," you say, running up to her.

"Hiya!" She says. "Thanks for coming to get me."

"No problem," you say as the two of you begin to walk back towards the apartment building. You wish you could use your Wispon to get back as well, but Sparks is with you, and you don't want to leave her in the dust.

You can hear crickets chirping as the two of you walk. It's mostly silent other than that, which is weird because Sparks is always so talkative. You think she must be tired.

_ Crack _ .

You freeze and keep your hand on your Wispon. It's probably nothing, but it's better to be safe than sorry.

"Something wrong?" Sparks whispers.

You pause, listening for a moment. No more noises.

You shake your head and continue walking.

_ Thump. _

The sound of someone hissing in pain wracks the air. Immediately, you grab Sparks' hand and decamp behind a building. 

"What's going on?" Sparks whispers. "It sounded like someone got hurt, why are we hiding?"

You glance at her. You really don't know. You're just paranoid; what if someone really  _ did _ get hurt? You're hiding from them because, why, exactly?

Slowly, you come out from behind the building. The two of you begin to look along the side of the road to see if you can find anyone.

Suddenly, a flash of white hair catches your attention. It stands out against the dark. Someone is lying face down on the ground, breathing slow, pained breaths. 

You keel down. "Sparks," you say, motioning for her to join you, "over here."

She bounds over to you and kneels down as well. "Are they alive?"

"They're breathing," you say. "I think they're unconscious."

"What do we do?" Sparks asks. You shake your head. 

"I don't know," you say. "Should we try to wake them up?"

Without answering, Sparks shakes the unconscious Mobian's shoulder. A grunt sounds, and you recognize it immediately.

It's Infinite.

You gasp, reaching for your Wispon, but Sparks grabs your arm and stops you.

"Are you  _ insane _ ? They're clearly hurt!" Sparks says. "What were you going to do, put them out of their misery?"

"I might as well, there's a one-hundred-thousand dollar bounty on his head," you blurt.

Sparks gasps loudly. Infinite tries to push himself up and fails, plunging back towards the ground. He's in no state to fight. You could end this, right now, get the one-hundred-thousand dollars, and be done with all of this forever.

"This is  _ Infinite _ ?" Sparks whispers loudly.

"I can hear you," Infinite says, his voice raspy and weak.

Both you and Sparks snap your heads towards him. He's trying to push himself up again.

"What do we do?" Sparks mouths silently at you. You shrug. Would it be morally wrong to kill him right now? He's done so much evil, and you've done so much good, one black mark on your record wouldn't ruin things, would it?

Infinite has pushed himself up to a sitting position. He's maskless, and you can see that he's injured—there's a clot of blood on his chest where the Phantom Ruby used to reside, and several scratches across his face. He has one blue eye and one yellow eye, a scar going through the blue eye. You can tell now that he's a Jackal, not some kind of robot as you'd previously thought.

Sparks stares at you with a grimace. You stare at Infinite, contemplating what to do.

He's trying not to show weakness. He's failing.

"If...if you kill me," he stutters, looking down at the ground, "you'll never get it off your conscience."

_ He's right _ , you think.

You look back at Sparks. She has stopped grimacing and is now sitting on her heels, hands on her knees, eyes closed in thought.

"We have to help him," she says, turning to you and opening her eyes.

"I'm sorry?" You say, thinking that perhaps you haven't heard her correctly.

"We have to help him," she repeats. "Sure, he's done a lot of bad things, but now he's injured and wanted by G.U.N., and I think we should help him because it's the right thing to do."

"The right thing to do is to turn him in to G.U.N.!" You exclaim. 

"And why?" Sparks says. "You don't know his motives for helping Eggman. You don't know anything about him other than what he did. Maybe he regrets it. Maybe turning him into G.U.N. will do more harm than good."

"I dunno, splitting one-hundred-thousand dollars with you sounds pretty  _ good _ right about now," you say.

"Well,  _ I'm  _ not turning him in," Sparks says, crossing her arms. You sit on your heels and look at Infinite. He's still looking down at the ground.

"Decide already!" He growls. "Kill me, turn me in, or help me. Those are your options. Now decide before I kill the both of you."

"I've decided!" Sparks exclaims, putting her hands on her hips and smiling. "We help you, and, if it turns out you're really just an evil person and not a misguided soul, we turn you in. How does that sound, [y/n]?"

You sigh. She's not letting this go, is she?

"Fine," you groan. Sparks squeals loudly and stands up. You stand up as well. Infinite struggles for a moment.

"A little help, here?" He grumbles. You roll your eyes and bend down. He wraps his arm around your shoulder and you wrap your arm around his waist. Together, you stand up.

He smells gross, like sweat and blood. But you don't complain.

The three of you walk home slowly, Sparks babbling the whole way about R.I.C.E. and bandages and how she has a several scars from gear-repairing accidents. You listen intently, but can tell that Infinite is ignoring her.

The walk home is long, and boring, and tense. When you finally arrive, Sparks opens the doors for the both of you using her key.

"So, where's he staying?" You ask, almost as if he isn't there.

"Well, I have all my gear taking up space," Sparks says, "so I was thinking he could stay at your place until I can move the gear to my garage."

"What?!" You exclaim, nearly dropping Infinite. "No. Not happening."

The three of you stand in front of the elevators and wait.

"Yes. Yes happening," Sparks mocks you playfully. She laughs. "C'mon. It'll be fine."

The elevator arrives and you all step on, setting course for the ninth floor where you and Sparks live.

"This guy tried to  _ kill me _ , remember?" You blurt. "And I tried to kill  _ him _ . This isn't going to work out."

"You don't know until you try, [y/n]," Sparks says, putting her hands on her hips. 

"Yeah, I agree with her," Infinite says. "By the way, I don't have the pleasure of knowing the name of my savior."

"Sparks!" Sparks exclaims. "I'm one of the best Extreme Gear mechanics around."

She's exaggerating, you know this. She's not quite as good as Miles "Tails" Prower or Wave the Swallow.

"I'm…" you start, but Infinite interrupts you.

"I know your name, [y/n]," he says. You're a bit taken aback. You don't remember him knowing your name. Perhaps he picked it up from Sonic when you two were fighting together.

The elevator arrives. You part ways with Sparks, cart Infinite back to your apartment, open your door with your key, and dump him on the couch the first chance you get.

"Okay," you say, putting your hands on your hips. "Sparks was talking about R.I.C.E., and I think you need a bit of that. Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation. We can only do three-fourths of it, though, because I don't have any compression bandages."

Infinite shifts his position on the couch to be more comfortable. "Get me a towel,  _ I'll  _ do the compression part."

You roll your eyes. Is he going to be this difficult the whole time he's staying here? God, you sure hope not.

"You're…" You stutter, "...you're in no place to be doctoring yourself. I'll get a towel, some ice, and a couple pillows. And  _ I'll  _ take care of the compression, mister."

Infinite crosses his arms and scowls, but doesn't say anything.

You head to the kitchen, first, grabbing a towel from the oven handle and an ice pack from the freezer. Then you head to the hall closet by your bedroom, which contains extra pillows and blankets. You grab two pillows and one blanket, by now having such a stack of things in your arms that you can barely see in front of you. Luckily, it's only a few steps to the main room.

You set everything down on the floor in front of the couch and pick out a pillow first.

"Which leg is it?" You ask.

Infinite sticks up his left leg. You shove the pillow underneath it and he rests his foot down on the pillow. You can see now; his ankle is incredibly swollen.

You take the towel and wrap it around his ankle tightly, and tie a knot. Then you rest the ice pack on top. He jumps a little from the shock of the cold, but relaxes quickly.

You shove a pillow under his head and throw the blanket in a ball on top of him. He can sort that out himself.

"You're welcome," you say. He doesn't thank you.

You go to bed soon after that, praying to whatever deity is up there that you don't wake up dead.


	2. Chapter 2

You wake up the next morning, and you're fairly sure you aren't dead.

You can hear voices coming from the main room of your apartment. It sounds like someone's watching the news.

You climb out of bed, throw on some clothes, and head out to see what Infinite is doing (and how the hell he managed to turn on the TV without your help). He's still laying down, foot elevated and wrapped, though the ice pack has been ditched. He's got the TV remote on his hand, which you're fairly sure you left on the TV stand, meaning he either has secret telekinesis or he actually limped over to the TV stand just so he could watch the news.

"Good morning, sunshine," you say sarcastically. Infinite doesn't reply. He keeps his eyes trained on the TV.

You stand behind the couch and decide to watch a bit of the news as well. They're talking about rebuilding after the war. Nothing particularly interesting.

"Want some breakfast?" You ask Infinite. He grunts in response. You roll your eyes, and decide to force him to eat something anyway.

You head to the kitchen, but just as you step foot on the tile, the word "Infinite" on the TV gathers your attention. You turn around and go back to standing behind the couch almost immediately.

"...searching for a jackal called Infinite," the news anchor says, "who was apparently assisting Doctor Ivo Robotnik in his efforts."

Infinite shuts off the TV quickly. You look at him.

"What'd you do that for?" You ask. "We could have found out more information about how G.U.N. knows you're alive."

"I  _ know _ how they know I'm alive!" Infinite growls. 

"Well, I don't!" You exclaim. "Are you just going to leave me in the dark?"

"No offence, but you tried to kill me last week," Infinite says. "So. Yes."

You sigh and go back to the kitchen for breakfast.

_ Is this really the best place for him to be hiding from G.U.N.?  _ You think to yourself.  _ It's an apartment in plain sight. Wouldn't one of the old rebel bases be better? _

You grab some sugary cereal from the cupboard—cereal you had just bought yesterday at the market—and pour two bowls, one for yourself and one for Infinite. You return to the living room, handing Infinite one of the bowls; he sits up slightly, propping himself on one elbow. You sit on the floor in front of the couch, by Infinite's feet.

"So," you say, shoving a spoonful of cereal into your mouth, "what's up?"

"Are you trying to make small-talk with me?" Infinite asks, poking at his cereal skeptically, as though you've poisoned it or something.

"You're the one that turned off our only source of entertainment," you say sassily. Infinite grumbles.

"If you'd  _ really _ like to know 'what's up', I'll tell you," he says, looking at you. "I'm in an unfamiliar apartment with the person who tried to kill me, in severe pain, and completely vulnerable. Does it sound like—"

He was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"[y/n]!" Someone from behind the door shouted, "Are you awake yet?"

"It's Sparks," you groan. You set your bowl of cereal on the floor before getting up to answer the door.

Sparks is already dressed and ready for the day, it seems. The door to her apartment, which is just across the hallway, has been left open, and you can see boxes upon boxes filled with Extreme Gear and Extreme Gear parts stacked inside. 

"Ah, you're awake!" Sparks exclaims. "Is Infinite?"

"Yes," Infinite grumbles. You glance towards him, though you can only see his ears over the back of the couch.

"Okay, sweet!" Sparks says. "I was wondering if perhaps [y/n] wanted to help me move all this Extreme Gear stuff, and then when we're done with that, Infinite can stay at my place!"

"No way," you say immediately. "I'm not leaving him in here alone. Going to bed was enough of a scare."

"Oh, c'mon, it'll be  _ fine _ !" Sparks tries to convince you. "He's hardly in a state to do much of anything."

"He managed to turn on the TV by himself," you mumble. "Anyway, no, I'm putting my foot down, Sparks. I'm not leaving him in here alone."

"Alright, your loss," Sparks says. "He'll just be in here longer because it's going to take me  _ ever _ so long to move all those boxes by myself. Hmph."

She slams the door in your face.

"Like she said, your loss," Infinite says with a shrug. You have half a mind to punch him, but you don't.

You go back to your cereal, sitting on the floor again. Infinite finally takes a bite of his, albeit a small one.

"You need a shower, or something," you blurt suddenly. You don't really regret saying it.

Infinite points to his ankle. "Do I  _ look _ like I can stand up for longer than a minute?" He says, cynicism dripping from his voice. 

"I'm sorry, but you smell  _ terrible _ ," you say. "Also, that wound on your chest looks like it'll become infected if you don't get it cleaned out."

Suddenly, infinite grunts. You turn to look at him. He looks like he's...glitching out?

You stand up quickly, wondering what to do. There's a half-dead jackal glitching out on your couch. God, you didn't think you'd be thinking that phrase today. Or ever.

As soon as it began, it stops, and Infinite is clutching at his head.

"What the  _ hell _ was that?" You exclaim.

"Sorry," Infinite says. "I should have warned you. This has been happening ever since I was defeated."

"Why?!" You ask.

"Can you not tell?" Infinite asks. When you look at him dumbly, he realizes that the answer is "no". "It's because of the Phantom Ruby. I was...fused with it. Now that it's gone, I kind of...phase in and out of null space, sometimes."

"Well, how can we stop it?" You ask.

"You are just full of questions!" Infinite growls. "I don't know."

You sigh dejectedly. "So you're just going to have to deal with this for the rest of your life?"

"That's what I was thinking."

You sink back down onto the floor and continue eating your cereal.

Later, it happens again.

You're making dinner when you hear Infinite make a noise. You run into the main room of your apartment, only to find him glitching out—or, rather, phasing in and out of null space—again.

You're not sure what to do.  _ Should I...make sure he doesn't hit his head? _ You think.  _ He's not...he's not having a seizure _ , you correct yourself.

It stops quickly, and Infinite clutches his head as he did before. You rush to his side.

"You okay?" You ask.

Still clutching his head, he responds: "Why do you care?"

"Because Sparks will kill me if you're not," you respond bluntly. "So, answer me properly: are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Infinite says. He doesn't look like he's telling the truth, by the way he clutches his head.

You debate for a good, long moment about what to do. You think maybe you should call Tails and see what he says about all this, since he seems to know a lot about this kind of stuff, but he'd think you're crazy for giving Infinite a place to stay, especially after what happened to Sonic. 

So you give Infinite some ibuprofen for his head as an alternative.

The both of you eat dinner out in the living room while watching some old program in black and white.

There's a knock at the door as you're watching.

"[y/n]!" Sparks exclaims from behind the door. "I'm almost done moving these boxes!"

You set your plate of food down on the floor and get up to answer the door. Sparks looks disheveled, like she's been moving boxes all day (which she has). She wipes some sweat off her forehead before she speaks.

"Infinite could sleep in my apartment tonight, if you'd like," she says.

"Go ahead, take him," you say. Infinite immediately protests.

"No," he says simply. Both you and Sparks stare at him. He's leaning over the back of the couch, both arms dangling towards the floor. It's a bit of a silly sight.

"What?" Sparks asks.

"We're in the middle of dinner, first of all," Infinite says, "and second of all, I'd have to walk over there. Do you know how difficult that's going to be?"

"It sounds like you're making excuses," you say, frowning.

"It sounds like  _ you _ want me out of here as soon as possible!" Infinite says. 

"I do!" You exclaim. "I don't like you! I never have! You destroyed my world and tried to kill me!"

Infinite looks hurt. He sinks back down onto the couch.

You turn to Sparks. She looks concerned.

"What?" You say. "It's true. I'm just being honest."

"Your couch was uncomfortable anyway," Infinite says, beginning to limp towards the door. You almost stop him, but decide not to. Let him go with Sparks. You never wanted him here in the first place.

Sparks rushes forward and grabs his waist with one hand. He wraps his arm around her shoulders and together, they limp back to her apartment.

You shut the door gently before cleaning up the plate of food Infinite left on the couch and finishing your own.

You don't regret a single thing. He's out of your hair, and hey, now Sparks has a half-dead jackal phasing in and out of null space to deal with, but it was totally worth it.

You go to bed that night knowing you're safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Howdy! (*´∀｀*) hope you enjoyed this chapter! Also I haven't brushed up on Sonic lore in a little while so let me know if I get anything wrong! (Also, sorry this chapter was a bit shorter than the last. They'll probably be about this length from now on, but we'll see).


End file.
